My story of survival
by TribeOfJane
Summary: From beach arrival to mountain conquer: follow along with the story of Jane, a lone woman against the savagery of a prehistoric land
1. Arrival

Disclaimer: I don't own ARK, the lovely people at Wildcard do. The plot is based on my playthru in single player mode. There are a couple pretty basic first chapters as there aren't that many ways to start out in the world :)

 **One**

It's bright.

I've walked around for a bit, simply scouting the area. A beach stretches away on the right, while rocks and plants litter the left. In the distance another beach with some large trees can be seen. Mountains tower above everything. It has started to heat up, and my stomach is rumbling. I grab some blue and red berries from the bushes along my route; they are tasty and calm my stomach.

I head back to the location where I awoke. It was flat, sandy and rocky. Multiple stands of palm trees arc around the northern side, with a field of massive boulders to the east and west. The south looks out over the water. A few minutes to the north is a dark jungle that sounds full of life.

The first sign of other life appears in the form of a tiny blue-grey dinosaur. It sees me and with a squeak turns and runs away quickly. It stops not too far away and watches me warily. I can hear a rumbling in the background, but don't go see what it is; obviously it's massive and I'm a tiny unarmed person.

I need tools and weapons. There are many sharp rocks scattered about the area so I begin by gathering a pile of these, in addition to a few rounded and concave rocks. The concave rocks I sort different colored berries into, while the rounded rocks will make good ammunition for hunting. Using several of the sharp rocks, wood from some tree limbs and some fibers from a stringy fern I fashion both a hatchet and a pickaxe.

By this time it was getting dark, so I sparked a small fire on the sand with some flint and some of the dead palm leaves and fern plants. The little dino has finally left, probably to bed down for the night. Piling various fern branches and leaves up to make a pillow I go to sleep with my back against the rock.


	2. Shelter

Disclaimer: Each chapter will be short (~400 words)

 **Two**

The next morning was cold and damp. I wanted to make a small hut as soon as I could, so after eating some berries I headed for the trees. After several hours a large pile of thatch stripping and plant fibers was sitting next to the fire pit. The sky had cleared up and was warm even in the shade. By arranging the thatch and weaving the fibers through it, I made cushions of several sizes.

After lunch, I ventured further from home to cut down some large trees for wood. There were larger dinos along the way, including one that attacked me and that I was forced to kill. I left the carcass for others to pick at and took the meat and hide. There were massive brontos, towering above all but the high rock formations and completely ignoring those down below. Several Trikes, curious but friendly, followed my trek down the beach with interest. A venom-spitting Dilo attacked me without cause: he was the one I killed.

Back at home I started the fire and put the meat on it. I hung the skin on a rock away from the fire so it would dry out. The meat cooked as I made frames for the hut, a two by two foundation with roof and two doors. By the time they were done it was getting dark so after eating a dinner of Dilo meat and berries I went to sleep.

I finished levering the first cushion onto the frame of the roof and sat down for a moment to relax. The cushions weren't heavy, but they were large and hard to maneuver around. I had fitted a pully on the frame to help a bit, but it was hard work. There had to be a better way.

Sitting down for lunch, I watched the life around go about their day. There were several examples of the tiny dino I saw the first day, scattered about and rutting for bugs. A flying dino called a Pteranodon circled above, occasionally diving for fish in the shallow bay. A pair of medium sized dinos called Parasaurs were taking berries from the bushes: the red ones seemed to be a favorite.

Hmm. The Parasaurs were well muscled but passive. They were quick but kinda dumb, easily trapped against the rocks: I'd seen it happen in an earlier hike. One of them could easily help me lever the house together. Now, to figure out a way to tame one.


	3. New help

Author's note: Logically explaining _hand taming_ in the Ark universe is hard. 'Let's violently bash the dino until it's knocked out. Then feed it berries for a little while and when it wakes up it'll love you forever'

 **Three**

I'd stocked up on berries, both red and the black berries I knew from experience would put someone to sleep in large quantities. The two Parasaurs were still outside, a red female and a green female. I lured the green one over with the berries, leading her into an alcove in the rock. From there I started sneaking in a black berry for every two red berries: she was paying more attention to me than the color of every berry. After a while of this, she stared to get slow, lethargic. She fought back a little, but I forced a handful of black berries into her mouth and stepped back out of range of her small but sharp claws.

With a final swipe at the air, she went down.

After the Para had awoken, tamed after several hours of feeding her and just sitting with her, I rigged up a line between her and a cushion. Urging her forward, she did so with no problem and the cushion slide into place easily. Building would now be much easier with a little help.

I stood back and looked our creation. A single room with an overhung porch, complete with an enclosed firepit, storage bin, and sleeping bag made of the hide of the previous day's attacking Dilo. A little fenced in area off to the left complete with a door off the porch was for a planned later project. It was rather late in the day by this point, so the Para and I just gathered berries from the plants nearby until I was tired.


	4. Food sources

**Four**

The next morning I awoke in a thunderstorm. Glad for the storage of berries and the porch I recently created, I hung out on the thatch and watched the dinos in the rain. A bird, seemingly flightless and rather oblivious, ran up onto the porch and hunkered in out of the rain. He swiped a few red berries from the bowl as he went by but otherwise did nothing.

After the rain stopped, he jumped down and toddled off down the beach. Para watched him go with interest, but she didn't go after him. I knew the bird that visited me laid eggs, and also made a tasty meal when cooked. I had built the pen next door to contain some smaller dinos, but the birds would work out just as well. Even better, as the eggs would add a much needed new source of protein.

It took a few trials, but I figured out how to knock the slow moving birds out without injuring them too much. The birds often scattered once I attacked one, but they were slow and it was easy to catch multiples in one trip.

In one especially good trip Para was leading a herd of birds back to base while I made sure any Dilos were waylayed. A nest had moved in nearby lately and they often attacked us while hiking. I had just run one off when Para's loud call echoed from the west. I ran around the corner to see 5 Dilos eating my birds. Para was fighting them as best she could, but there were too many of them for her to handle. I started hacking into the group with my hatchet, landing several good hits and taking one down immediately.

By the end, I had one Dodo left from a group of 8, and a badly injured Para. The next several days were spent just recuperating from her injuries and watching for any signs she was getting worse.


	5. Wild trip

It had been a month on the ARK, and the dinos had totally taken over Jane's heart.

She had tamed a pair of Trikes(Ben and Bella), scads of Dodos and 2 Dilos. Even moved down the beach to find a bigger area to house her flock. After taming one of the Pteranodons, she feels invincible and decides to head further into the island...

 **Five**

Fly was a spectacular mount. Sure, he might not have very much stamina, and he might be a coward, but he was quick and obedient (unless it involved fighting) and an awesome way to cover large distances. I loved him, and so I decided to take him for a trip. We would travel to the Deep Island and back.

A nice exploration.

We started off by heading west, just hovering above the swamps and watching the new species. I hadn't seen many of these creatures before: there were massive snakes, frogs bigger than I, small flying dinos that ate bugs and the giant dragonflys, and swarms of Dilos. There were even giant giraffe like creatures that picked the leaves from the tops of trees. There were small dinos that looked like Dilos but moved much quicker and made a keening noise that could be heard from us hovering above.

Suddenly Fly dove at the ground. He was heading straight for the swamp, towards the snakes and the frogs and the water. He ignored my every attempt to lead him somewhere else or to land on higher ground. As the water neared, I scanned the area to see what I was going to have to deal with. A few snakes, noticing we were landing, were slithering over. I didn't see any frogs but the dense trees made it hard to see.

We splashed into the water. Fly headed off to sit contentedly on a rock, unaware of the predators coming towards us. The nearest snake lashed out, grazing my arm with a venom dripping fang. The appendage immediately went numb. Fly had noticed by now and was attacking another of the snakes, spinning in fast circles above it and landing bite after bite. I trying calling him over, but he ignored me again. Cursing, I killed the first snake and started trying to reach solid ground.


	6. Aftermath

**Six**

The beach was warm. That was the first thing I noticed. And the only thing I noticed for quite some time.

I remembered stumbling away from the swamp, my vision dark and blurry. I didn't know where Fly was, and didn't particularly care. He had betrayed me, ignored my calls for help and created the problem in the first place. Last I saw him, the brown flyer was running away from a hoard of snakes as I fought bare handed against a piranha.

I sat up. Every joint ached, and I had bites all over my arms and legs. Patching myself up as best as I could, I watched the Trikes and other herbivores march up and down the beach. The sun was glaring down now and the sand was blinding. Birds were numerous, both the smaller quicker ones and Pteras like the traitor Fly. I cursed.

Fly was hovering high above, ignoring all my calls and, as I got desperate, the arrows I shot at him. My heart dropped. How was I supposed to get home? There was a lot of dangerous land between this random river bank and home. It seemed safe exactly where I was, but I needed to be able to get home before my dinos starved. And it was getting dark.

* * *

As I tied the roof on the tiny shelter one of the tiny flyers flew in and landed. I closed the door quickly and trapped him in with me and the fire. He was black and blue with a multicolored shoulder, with a long tail tipped in grey. I kept him inside all night while I slept: he was tamed by the morning. I really needed a flyer and besides Fly (still hovering out of reach) there was none around today. Across the river there were several, but a giant angry dino with a sail was attacking anything that dared cross HIS river. With a look at my new friend, I headed down the beach a bit to a spot where I could hopefully cross without any of the dinos catching me.

There were piranhas everywhere though! I had to swim quick and stab only those closest: the Dimo helped a bit by biting anything that got close enough. It was noon by the time I downed a suitable flyer, another male with similar colors but a rustier hue. It took a little bit of time to make and fit a saddle to him. After a brief test flight and a visit up to punch Fly (who grunted but otherwise ignored me), I headed home.

* * *

I limped into my base, sans my pride. The Trikes both greeted me with grunts and a headrub, and the new flyer took his place between them.


	7. Planning

Author's note: I noticed that I tend to switch between tenses, so I'm going to try and work on that. And thank you reviewers! 3

 **Seven**

It is time to move off this little stretch of beach.

I need to move before I have too many dinos, and this area is pretty yet sparse on resources. I've figured out how to make a cobblestone house, but there is very little rock. I'd also like some more species, and right now I have to walk allllll the way back to the base with the newly tamed dino, avoiding any carnivores along the way.

But I need to know where to move to, and after the disastrous trip a few weeks ago I don't 't really want to go on another flying exploration. The ocean is dangerous due to sharks, but if I can build a boat I can look around the island safely and easily. I need a place with water, rocks and lots of trees, probably somewhere to the north. A wide variety of dinos would be a plus.

But above all I want somewhere pretty, somewhere where I can relax and enjoy just living on this beautiful island with my pets.

 **.*.**

My raft is ugly, but functional. It's small, 3 by 3, with a large sail. I'm sure I'll find many goodies in my travels and I need a safe place to keep them so storage boxes litter the deck. There is a small 3 sided room on the back around the rudder: this is to block out the cold and keep dinosaurs from attacking from the rear. I have several torches and campfires to keep me warm when I hit the polar region (I saw it while I was flying on the ill fated trip) stocked with plenty of fuel.

I thought about which pet would be the best to accompany me on the trip. A Dilo would work for a guard, but really I needed more than one to be safe. A Trike was too big for the raft, and a Dodo would be useless as I already had a stock of food. So I decided to take Luke. He would allow me to fly if needed, he was a pretty good fighter, and he liked to 'talk' so he would be a good companion.

Now for the trip!


	8. Skydeath

Author note: This is a quick chapter. I'm in the middle of a Dimo spree on ARK and am more focused on that at the moment.

 **Eight**

 **.*.**

"Ouch!" Luke looked over at me sharply as I yelped. I had fallen into the water when the raft rocked a little too much, and a shark had gotten a bite in before I was able to climb back up. Thankfully I had stocked up with medical supplies and I was patching myself up. So far I'd made it around a corner, and was much closer to the snowy environment. We were parked in a bay at the moment.

There is a swarm of birds up ahead, huge avians with 20 foot wingspans. They seemed to be attacking a herd of Ankylosaurus', and neither were winning. The Ankylo's spikey tales were a perfect match for the Argent's talons, and the dinos were too big for the birds to pick up: something I saw them do with a ill-fated pack of Dilos.

A green and black bird broke away from the swarm, a dead Dilo in her claws. She flew straight towards the raft, her black eyes glinting as she got close enough to focus on us. With a _woosh_ she landed on the beach beside us and tucked into her dinner. She is glaring at us right now.

 **.*.**

We have a new travel companion. The Argent from before has been tamed, as I was able to throw some narcotic over her Dilo as she ate. I've named her Skydeath; she has a cunning and dangerous glint in her eye. Luke still looks at her warily. I think he remembers that Argent's are much higher on the food chain than he is. I have not yet tried to ride her though, so she guards the raft when Luke and I scout inland for a place to live.

We've made it to the snow and around another edge. It is much colder here. The fires run all the time, and it is still a little chilly in between four of them. Lighting the torches attached to Luke's Saddle, we headed inland to search the snowy area.

 **.*.**

I've found our new home.


	9. Serenity

**Nine**

* * *

Serenity is the perfect location.

I stood on the hilltop I had staked out for my new home. It overlooked a gorgeous long valley with it's own pond full of fish. A forest borders 2/3 of the valley, with the rest a small beach. The river curves around the valley and there were a ton of creatures around. The hilltop is rocky and sparse, but the hillside is bare and perfect for building.

I brought my bird, Skydeath, to help with the heavy lifting and to guard me as I work. I'll eventually bring over all the animals, but not until I have safe room for them.

I started by building a foundation for a simple room. Instead of blocking the lovely view, I made the wall facing the valley of thin wooden rails: they would keep the bugs and birds out but allow me to overlook all of the valley and across the river to the furthest hills. After I built the main room, I started on the Mammal House. A long room partially divided by rails, with a central feeding trough and several doors would protect all the mammals I had plans to get.

An upper floor was added to the whole structure: building up was easier than building out on this cliff. There were ladders to the second floor, where I would keep my flyers. This area was also railed off, so the birds wouldn't be walled off in a depressing dark box. They would be able to perch on tree limbs I dragged in for them and there was a trough so they could eat at any time.

Over my quarters I built a taming pen. A bird could carry a creature to be tamed to the pen and drop it in, allowing me to tame it without any fear of carnivores attacking me or the tame. It had high walls and an overhang to shoot tranqs from safely. Multiple ladders would allow a quick escape in case a dino woke up and took offense to my presence, and a small door would allow me to escape to the aviary. The overhang had a box and the supplies/tools to make my narcotics, darts and arrows. The edge of the pen was painted to make it easier to see from the sky as well.

Further towards the beach I built a holding pen for any dinos that I didn't have the ability to tame yet. It was oval and 5 x 5. The pen was painted red to again make it easy to see. It was near a small building built as a nursery, and painted in calming colors.

Now for fencing.


	10. Home Sweet Home

**Ten**

* * *

I really don't want to fence in all this variegated landscape. I've fenced in around the house, with a bit of area left in the front to continue building if I wanted. But the rest of the area is mostly populated by peaceful herbivores and the occasional carnivore. I decided to put up spiky wooden barricades in front of the walls I did have, in case something tried to break through them.

But the rest was left natural. The only dinos I'd leave out would be big ones that could probably take care of themselves. The spike walls took a long time to pare down and strap together but they seemed to do the trick when a Carno decided to chew on Skydeath, who was sitting behind the wall. Instead of ramming tasty bird flesh, he speared himself on the honed wood. Casually, because Skydeath is always calm and collected, she hopped over the wall and began munching on the green dinosaur carcass.

After a while of living here, settling in with all my charges and just generally existing, I got the wanderlust again. The troughs were full, the fences strong and tall, and the Dilo army ready for any intruders. Everyone should be safe while I was gone.

Early in the morning I saddled up the best bird ever, and examined her: as she had aged her green markings were starting to turn a lovely dark blue. She chirped loudly as I asked her if she wanted to join me on a trip, and dipped her head happily.

Who knows what we would find?


	11. Wanderlust

We had flown across a swamp, over a low mountain and through a cold snowy expanse. Currently, Skydeath and I were huddled between 4 fires on the side of a snow-covered mountain. Down below in the valley there was a large herd of wolves savaging a fleet of mammoths: the hungry Skydeath was eyeing a blood covered small straggler at the back of the pack. I gazed at her for a moment before whistling. She took off in an explosion of snow and ice, heading for the now limping dog.

She dropped the carcass at my feet, uncharacteristically offering me the first bite. Leaving my cuts to roast over the fire I stood and unrolled the sleeping bag tied to Skydeath's saddle. I took the saddle off her and let her stretch out with her meal.

*.*

The dawn broke bright and frigid. Skydeath was perched on a rock and watching the valley animals begin to wake. Her keen gaze gave me an idea: could I teach her to pick up a wolf while I was riding her? She was a very bright bird and so far had learned everything I taught her. Besides, that was her natural way of hunting. We dined on a bit of meat left from last night and stoked the fires again, before saddling up.

I directed her down to the valley, then stopped on a tall rock. Whistling for the bird to grab one of the deer that were calmly grazing through the snow, I waited until she returned and commanded her to drop the herbivore without hurting it. As the deer ran off honking to his mate Skydeath landed and eyeballed me. Her disapproval was clear.

"I know." I patted her comfortingly. She suddenly chirped low, flapping her wings and watching something in the distance. The Argent couldn't keep still, hopping from foot to foot and nearly quivering. I snatched the new spyglass, made on this trip when I found some massive crystal nodes on the mountain, and searched the area she was fussing at.

There was a graceful all black bird swooping and diving towards a pair of Rexes, ripping huge chunks of flesh from the large dinos. Skydeath was so agitated that I was afraid she'd fly off on her own so I hopped aboard and let her fly over to the battle. She let out an unholy screech once we were closer and the black bird wheeled away from the Rexes and towards us.


End file.
